'Prithivraj Chauhan was a Gurjar king, depict him accordingly': Community body to film-maker

JAIPUR: Claiming that the 12th-century warrior king Prithviraj Chauhan was a Gurjar and not a Rajput, a Gurjar organisation on Friday reiterated its demand to depict him so in an upcoming film on him, starring Akshay Kumar.

Set to be released next month, the film has been produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi.

It also casts Sanjay Dutt, Manushi Chhillar and Manav Vij.

Prithviraj Chauhan or Prithviraj III, the 12the century warrior king's rule stretched from Sthanvishvara (Thanesar) in the north to Mewar in the south with Rajasthan's present-day Ajmer being his kingdom's capital.

In a news conference, the Akhil Bharatiya Veer Gurjar Mahasabha claimed that the facts mentioned in the epics establish that Prithviraj Chauhan was a Gurjar ruler.

Acharya Virendra Vikram of the Mahasabha claimed that in Prithviraj Raso Part 1, Prithviraj Chauhan's father Someshwar has been described as a Gurjar.

"There are several other historic facts which clearly show that he was a Gurjar. Based on these facts, we have demanded from the producers of the film to show Prithviraj as a Gurjar ruler in the film and not as a Rajput," he said.

The Mahasabha's state president Manish Bhargad said his organisation had met the film producer last year and handed over to him the historic evidence over the issue and requested him to present correct facts in his film.

"The film producer had assured the Mahasabha last year that nothing against the community will be shown in the film. As the film is now going to be released, we reiterate our demand that Prithviraj should be shown as a Gurjar ruler."

There was no instant reaction from Rajput leaders on the matter.